On This Day

01 June 1981

Happy birthday to Zöe Franklin, MP for Guildford

Born in Ascot, Berkshire, Zöe Franklin studied music at the Universities of Surrey and Southampton, graduating as a master of musicology. She worked for Surrey County Arts and the publishers Rhinegold Education Limited. Her political career began in May 2007 when she became director of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum, later serving as constituency organiser for Guildford Liberal Democrats. From 2008 to 15 she served as a councillor on Guildford Borough Council. She contested Guildford in the 2017 and 2019 general elections increasing the Liberal Democrat vote in both contests before winning the seat in 2024 with a majority of 8,429. In the Commons Franklin served on the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee 2024-25 before being appointed the party’s Local Government spokesperson in October 2025.